Guides, updates, and industry commentary

Regulatory Guides 20 Jun 2026

What Happens When a Representative Is Debarred — The Process and the Rep's Rights Under FAIS

A representative receives a call on a Friday afternoon: "You're debarred, effective immediately — hand in your access card." No written notice was provided, no policy document was given, and no opportunity to respond was offered. This is not a compliant debarment under Section 14 of the FAIS Act. The law prescribes a specific sequence of steps before any debarment can take effect — and the representative has defined rights at every stage.

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Regulatory Guides 19 Jun 2026

Must a Representative Under Supervision Tell Clients? The Disclosure Obligation Under FAIS

A representative joins an FSP under supervision and spends the first week meeting clients. They say nothing about their supervised status — assuming it is an internal administrative matter. It is not. FSCA FAIS Notice 86 of 2018 and the General Code of Conduct impose a personal disclosure obligation on every supervised representative, from the first client interaction. Here is what the law requires and where the obligation comes from.

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Regulatory Guides 5 Jun 2026

How Long Does a Representative Have to Pass RE5? The DOFA Timelines Explained

A representative is appointed under supervision in January 2024 and told they have "two years to pass RE5." In January 2026, they miss the deadline — because they assumed the two years ran from when the FSP started their study programme, not from the date of appointment. This is the most common DOFA miscalculation, and it is entirely avoidable. Here is how the timeline actually works.

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Regulatory Guides 5 Jun 2026

Can a Client Waive Their Rights Under the General Code of Conduct?

A client insists they do not need the Needs Analysis. They offer to sign a waiver. The representative, wanting to move the transaction forward, considers accepting. The answer under Section 21 of the General Code of Conduct is unambiguous: the waiver cannot be accepted, and acting on it does not make it valid. Here is what the provision actually prohibits — and why the client's willingness makes no difference.

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Regulatory Guides 29 May 2026

Can You Tell a Client You Filed a Suspicious Transaction Report?

A representative files a Suspicious Transaction Report and tells the client what was reported. The impulse is understandable - but the act is a criminal offence under Section 29(3) of FICA, carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment. Here is what the law actually requires, and why the instinct to be transparent is precisely the wrong response.

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Regulatory Guides 25 May 2026

When Must a FAIS Representative File a Cash Threshold Report — and What Counts as "Cash"?

A client walks in and hands over R55,000 in cash. Most financial advisers know a Cash Threshold Report is required — but not how quickly, not whether the transaction must stop, and not whether that travellers' cheque counts as "cash" under the Act. The answers are in Section 28 of FICA, and they are more specific than most practitioners realise.

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Regulatory Guides 19 May 2026

What Is the FAIS Ombud's Jurisdictional Limit — and What Happens When Your Claim Exceeds It?

A client with a R4.2 million loss wants to use the FAIS Ombud. The Ombud's jurisdictional limit is R3,500,000. The client assumes the Ombud is not available. That assumption is wrong — but only if the client understands and agrees to the abandonment mechanism. Here is how the jurisdictional limit works and what the decision to abandon actually means.

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Regulatory Guides 19 May 2026

Can a FAIS Representative Resign to Avoid Debarment?

A representative under investigation submits their resignation, expecting the regulatory process to end. It does not. Section 14(1)(a) of the FAIS Act explicitly covers persons who "are or were" representatives, and Section 14(5) gives the FSP six months after cessation to commence debarment proceedings. The resignation starts a clock — it does not stop one.

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Regulatory Guides 19 May 2026

Does Sequestration Automatically Debar a FAIS Representative?

A representative is sequestrated and the FSP's Key Individual reaches for the debarment paperwork. Stop. The financial soundness pillar in BN 194 does not apply to natural person representatives — which means the three-step chain most people assume (insolvency → financial soundness failure → disqualification) breaks at the first step. Here is what the law actually requires, and why it is structured that way.

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Exam Strategy 19 Apr 2026

The RE5 Paper Is Designed to Waste Your Time - Unless You Know This

You’ve spent weeks mastering the FAIS Act. You know your disclosure rules inside out. But there’s a very real chance you’ll drop marks on questions you actually know the answers to—simply because of the order you tackle them. Here is a breakdown of the RE5 exam structure and the strategic shift that can change your outcome.

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Exam Strategy 19 Apr 2026

Six Years of Experience Won't Save You in the RE5 Exam

Most RE5 prep material assumes you're brand new to financial services. This piece is different. It's for the seasoned advisors who have been doing the work for years, only to walk out of the exam room with a failing grade. While industry experience is genuinely valuable in the real world, the RE5 is a different beast entirely—and understanding why your experience might actually be working against you will completely change how you prepare.

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Exam Strategy 19 Apr 2026

RE5 Doesn't Test What You Know. It Tests How You Think.

Most RE5 candidates try to brute-force the FAIS Act through memorisation. Unfortunately, the exam doesn't reward that. Instead, it throws you into real-world scenarios and asks what a compliant representative would actually do. It's testing your regulatory judgment, not your memory. Changing one simple question can completely flip how you prepare.

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